Dusk
by crazyladybug614
Summary: Bella goes through a series of events leading her to make a change in her personality. Bella falls into a web of secrets, lies, danger, and love. Does her dark, dangerous imprint want her like she wants him? Is the caring human the right choice? Or should she go to her long lost lover, returning home a different person?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, here's my new story. This story is going to be a little different. It has much more of a plot and plan, and Paul and Bella's love life is more complicated.**

Dusk-

 _Neither the light nor the dark,_

 _It's the dusk that reconciles._

 _Silence crawls up the abysm,_

 _But the chaos beguiles._

 _In the tussle between black and white,_

 _The triumph of grey lures._

 _Blending with the blemish_

 _Yet again the dusk obscures._

 _\- Raksha Gaikar_

 _Dusk Chapter One_

Bella sighed and leaned her head down to the wheel, resting her forehead on her arms, which were crossed over the top of the wheel. She was debating whether she should go in and get her heart broken, like she knew it would be, or go home and never think about her old best friend ever again.

She decided that trying to save Jacob, even if it got her heart broken, was probably worth a shot.

She saw him walking by in the rain as she was about to get out of the truck. _Maybe it really is too late to save him._ She thought when she saw his cropped hair and tattoo. He was an official member of the gang. A tear slipped down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away and jumped out of the truck.

She knew that he knew she was there, the truck wasn't exactly hard to miss, but he didn't even glance her way, not even when she called out his name.

" Jacob! Turn the hell around!" she shouted. Tears were falling down her cheeks, disguised by the heavy rain. He stopped walking and turned towards her, a look of pure agony on his face.

" Jake." she whispered, taking a step closer. He took a step back. Another tear fell down her cheek. She saw him mouth her name, but no sound came out.

" Jacob, what have they done to you?" She asked, quietly. Her voice was hoarse with sadness. " They haven't done anything to me, Bella. This was bound to happen no matter what." he said, quizzically. " But it's not too late to back out..." she started, " Yes, it is! This is forever, Bella. It's out of my control." he said. She narrowed her eyes. _What was he even talking about?_

Jacob suddenly looked like he was listening to something, his head cocked to the side. He turned back towards her. " You need to leave, Bella." he said. That was when she saw the four large, shirtless men appear on the edge of the forest line. " The hell I do." she said, and stormed past Jacob. Normally she would have just given up at the sight of this, the danger. But not today. Today she was feeling bold. She approached the group of men, shoving Sam backwards. "What the hell? Why did you do this to him?" she shouted.

" What did we do? What did he do? What did he tell you?" One of the other men asked, angrily. Her eyes snapped to him. She gasped and her heart skipped a beat. It was an insane moment in time where she completely blanked out, the only thing she could think of was him. She couldn't even pull her eyes away from his.

She eventually snapped out of her reverie, looking into his eyes. It could have been seconds, minutes, or hours. She wasn't sure. Probably seconds. Everyone stood in their same positions, though now all attention was hyper focused on her and this unknown man standing before her. " Jacob doesn't tell me anything, probably because he's scared of you!" she told him, swallowing hard. He blinked, shocked out of his own blankness.

Suddenly the man seemed to snap, and he started to laugh. He laughed at her. She shook her head in disbelief at his rudeness. She huffed, pulled her hand back, and slapped him across the face. " Screw you, asshole." she said. He growled and ripples went down his body. He was breathing heavily, growling. " Paul! Control it." Sam barked, his voice deep. " Too late now." She heard another one say. " Bella, get back." Sam boomed. She snorted, " I'm not a part of your gang Sam, I don't take orders from you."

She could feel arms come around her waist and pull her backwards. It was most likely Jacob. Suddenly the man before her burst into a giant grey wolf. She let out a shaky scream and managed to kick her way out of Jacob's arms. She turned and ran as fast as she could, jumping in her truck and locking the door. With shaking fingers, she put the key into the ignition and started the truck. Bella drove away as fast as she could.

Her heart was still beating extremely fast as she got onto the main road. She may have been good with weird, but only when the weirdness was expected. Not when a man exploded into a giant wolf in front of her and nearly killed her. Not then.

She pulled the car into the Newton's camping gear store parking lot. She still had to work that day. It was probably for the best, it could give her some head space, distraction. Something deep inside of her told her she still needed more distraction than this.

She sighed and hopped out of the giant truck, walking inside. Mike smiled at her from his seat behind the counter. " Hey, Bella." he said. Mike had always been so nice to her, even when she was in her zombie faze. Thinking of that, she realized something, she had been in a zombie faze for nothing. She always knew that one day Edward would leave her, so why was it that when he finally did it was enough to shock her into depression? It was pointless, and it had to end.

" Bella?" she heard. She blinked, and looked up to see Mike standing from his chair. " Are you alright?" he asked. She let out a small chuckle. " Yeah, sorry. I've been in a daze all day. Haven't gotten enough sleep, plus I'm kind of...stressed." She technical was telling the truth. " Oh, well, anything I can help with?" he asked. " Honestly Mike, I'm in need of a serious distraction right now. If you have an idea of what in the hell I can do to get that it would be great." she told him honestly.

He seemed to think on the matter, and then a moment later a mischievous grin appeared on his face. " I think I know just the thing. I'm busy tonight, but I know exactly what you could do to get serious distraction, if you're up for it...I mean, it's not really your scene..." he said. Bella sighed and softly smiled, " I think that ' not my scene' is exactly what I need. The craziest thing you can think of sounds great to me." she told him.

He shook his head with a grin, " Bella Swan goes rogue, shall we keep this off the record or is this the new you?" he said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, " Okay now, just tell me what it is. I'm down for almost anything, I promise." she told him.

" My older brother Matt works the bar at a club in Port Angeles. I could get you in, _and_ with a protection promise, Matt would look out for you if I asked him..." Mike said. She thought about it for a moment, and came to the conclusion that this would be absolutely perfect. " That sounds...kind of awesome, thanks Mike. Would you give me directions?" she asked. He looked a little surprised, but nodded.

" Wow, you really _do_ need a serious distraction, the old Bella would never agree to this." Mike stated, writing down the address on a sheet of paper. She thought on that for a moment. _The old Bella._ She liked the sound of that, she was the _new_ Bella now. Stronger, happier. Yes. " No, she wouldn't have. But, _I_ would. And I just did." she said.

It was a simple, _verbal_ notation, but it changed everything. Saying it out loud made all the difference. She would no longer be the sad little girl who was dumped by a vampire, and now by her best friend too. She wouldn't be reckless to get distraction, she would be brave to have fun.

* * *

Paul sat on Emily and Sam's porch, his head in his hands. How was it that Paul Lahote, the infamous hot head, the aggressive, loose tempered man-whore had imprinted on Bella Swan.

Maybe she _was_ a leech lover, but Paul couldn't blame her for that, they got inside your head and fucked you up, it was all some sort of predator/prey thing. No, Bella Swan wasn't labeled by her leech loving, she was innocent, fragile, kind, and... haunted.

They didn't belong together, Paul knew that. It was the spirits way of paying him back for him being such a shitty person, he might have been the pack's best fighter, but his reputation wasn't all sunshine-and-roses-gracious-warrior shit like the rest of his pack.

He huffed into his hands in anger. The great spirits could have punished him in any way, but instead they had him imprint on someone who wasn't his soulmate, the opposite of, really. That would be something he would feel in his every breath throughout the rest of his life, the pain of an imprint that he would be forced to ignore.

He couldn't possibly be happy with _her._ Or really, _she_ could never be happy with _him._ Paul knew that she deserved better, but she would never be able to be truly happy with anyone because of this. What did the great spirits have to punish _her_ for? The leech?

" Paul?" he heard a small, faint voice ask. His head slid out of his hands as he turned towards Emily, who was smiling softly, apologetically. " Sam send you? Are you supposed to give me some sort of a chat on how much of a fucking 'gift' this shit is supposed to be?" he spat. She rolled her eyes and plopped down next to him.

" Sam didn't send me, and no, I'm not going to give you any bull. This is a decision for you to make on your own. I came to talk." she said. He sighed, of course Emily would know exactly what to say. She always did.

" I just...I don't know Em. I know I messed up, my whole life was just a big screw up, and I guess that's mostly on my part, and now the spirits they..." he started. She shook her head softly. " Of course you would come up with that, the spirits aren't _punishing_ you, honey. I don't know exactly what they have in mind, but they aren't trying to hurt you, or get back at you. They're trying to help you, I think." she said.

" I don't know...I think I just need to blow off some steam or something." he told her. She nodded in understanding, but didn't leave out the slight grimace. Emily knew what _my_ type of blowing off steam was. The spirits could take away his freedom, his happiness, and every ounce of peace he had left, but they couldn't take away the night clubs.

* * *

At nine o'clock pm, Bella Swan snuck out of her house, her hair curled, a black skater dress on, got in her car, and drove to Port Angeles. The club was called Sundown, and predictably it was located in the most wild area of Port Angeles. The party streets; bars, clubs, cheap hotels, etc. At first glance Bella wanted to run away, go home, back to her comfort zone, but then she remembered the reason she had came there in the first place. It was solely _to_ step out of her comfort zone.

She sighed, feeling her heart beating in her chest, and went inside. It was ten thirty, since the drive was an hour and a half form Forks. It was a little early for the Club to be very crowded, so predictably when she went inside there wasn't all that many people.

She saw the bar tender and smiled. He looked like Mike, but more muscular, tall, and formed. He must have been in his early twenties. His hair was blond, his eyes were blue, which made him look certainly like he could be Mike's older brother. She went walked over and as soon as he saw her recognition flashed through his eyes.

" Bella?" he asked. She nodded with a mischievous grin, " how did you know that already?" she asked. " Mike may have described you." he admitted. She chuckled. " What were his descriptions?" she questioned. " Well, he said you had brown hair, brown eyes...and that you were easily the most beautiful teenager anyone had ever seen." he said, humor in his voice. " Mike said all that?" she asked with a chuckle. " Yes, yes he did. I think he's in love with you." he said with a smile.

" Gosh, can't a girl just have a friend that's a boy and doesn't want to be her boyfriend?" she asked. " Yes, a girl can. But _you,_ you cannot." he told her. She quirked her eyebrow at him, " why not?" she asked. " Because, and I'm not in love with you or anything just yet, but you fit Mike's description to a tee." he told her. She smiled nervously, and sat down at one of the bar stools. The club was gradually filling up with more people.

" So, Bella, if you don't mind my asking, what on god's green earth are _you_ doing _here?_ I mean, it's not exactly...your scene, is it?" he asked. She gave him a look. " It didn't used to be...But it is now." she told him proudly. She looked around, noticing that the club was now very packed. It was a quarter past eleven.

She bit her lip, slid off of her barstool, and gave him a grin. He was pouring someone a drink and looked up with a smile. " What are you doing?" he asked with humor. " Showing you how much this _is_ my scene."

* * *

Paul had ran to his usual club, Sundown. It was the perfect place to go to get a little distance, distraction. It was the kind of club where the music was so loud that you couldn't' even hear your own thoughts, and that was exactly what Paul needed. He walked in, glancing around the room to learn his peer group.

He froze, his heart skipping a beat. There, sat at a bar stool was Bella Swan. She was talking to a young blonde bar tender. Paul felt a growl rising in his chest but pushed it back. What was she doing here?

She smiled, sliding off of her bar stool and exchanging words that even Paul couldn't hear over the music before backing away into the dancing crowd.

Paul sighed, running a hand through his cropped hair. The spirits really _could_ ruin everything.

That was when he realized that no matter what he did, the spirits would find a way to bring him back to Bella.

It wasn't like he didn't _want_ her. God he wanted her, and it wasn't that he couldn't easily have her, he definitely could, it was that he didn't want her to be forced to have him and want him for the rest of her life when she didn't deserve that. But fuck what he wanted, apparently the spirits were thinking strictly on what he _needed._ And he could feel that he needed her, he definitely could.

Paul made his way, slowly, to Bella. He thought that maybe she wouldn't even recognize him. He knew she would, though.

Bella was in the center of the dance floor, some random guy all over her, she didn't seem too excited about that, but she was still dancing with him. That told Paul something. This wasn't the type of thing Bella usually did, of course it wasn't, but tonight she had decided to because of those fucking asshole spirits, they had made her think she wanted to do something that would make her uncomfortable.

Maybe she was uncomfortable now, but Paul knew that the moment he had her in his arms she would relax.

The unknown man said something to her and then went to the bar. He was probably getting them drinks, and would most likely drop something in hers to make her relax more with him. That was what the club guys around her did. Paul wouldn't in a million years let Bella be subjected to something like that.

Paul got behind Bella so that she wouldn't recognize him. He wrapped his arms around her waist protectively and pulled her to him. She stiffened but relaxed into the imprint bond.

Paul's wolf settled knowing the girl was safe in his arms.

* * *

Bella was hoping that after the strange man had left that she would somehow be able to avoid him. She felt uncomfortable with the stranger all over her, but somehow after he disappeared and a new, warmer man came up behind her she relaxed into _him._

She turned in his arms when the next song came up, turning around to see who he was. Wrapping her arms around his neck she looked up at his face and cursed under her breath, pulling back slightly. " What are you doing here?" she leaned in to ask him. He smirked. " I could ask you the same thing, I come her a hell of a lot more often then you do, I'm sure." he purred. She huffed.

" Are you going to tell Jacob?" She asked him. she didn't want something like that to happen and Jacob to end up hating her for it. He already hated her enough. Not that it really mattered, he would never talk to her again anyways, unless it was to ask her not to spill his werewolf secret. She had put the pieces together, of course. " Not if you don't." he whispered in her ear. It sent a jolt through her heart.

She wanted to kiss him. Just lean up and see what those perfectly shaped full lips felt like. _What has gotten into me?_ She thought. She was dancing with and wanted to kiss a guy who she hardly knew, but hated because he had taken part in ruining her relationship with her best friend.

She pulled away from him and started to turn away but he grabbed her wrist softly. " What's wrong?" he leaned in to question her. " I just, I can't do this." she told him, heading towards the exit to get some fresh air.

She sighed leaning against the brick wall, breathing in the refreshing cold air. " Bella?" she heard. she turned her head and met the eyes of Paul, who had followed her out. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep. " What do you want, Paul?" she asked.

He came next to her and leaned against the wall too. " I told you I wouldn't tell Jacob. Look, you can have fun, I mean, without thinking about other people for once." he said. " You don't know anything about me Paul, but I've definitely heard things about you. I know that you're just looking for someone to screw. A good fuck?" she said. It wasn't like Bella to use language, but she had to be firm.

Paul licked his lips. " Bella...I'm not...Look, I wasn't telling you that you should let loose and have sex with me, I'm just telling you that you can do what you came here to do without worrying about your relationship to me, and my relationship to Jacob." he said.

" I don't even know what I came here to do anymore anyways. I think I should probably just leave. Look, I'm not going to share your secret. The whole...wolf thing. You can just go, and tell Jacob that he doesn't have to talk to me about it, I won't tell anyone." she told him, leaving his side and going back towards the door.

" Bella, wait. Listen, Jacob stopped talking to you because we told him to. He can't share the secret with anyone either. Now that you know I'm sure he's thrilled that he can have you in his life again. Don't ignore him. I don't like him at all, but he's my brother and I have to say something." Paul said.

" Thanks. Tell Jacob that if he still wants to be friends he should call me." Bella told him, going back inside without another word. She had to tell Matt that she was heading out so that he knew she was okay. Mike had made him promise to look out for her.

She approached the bar and leaned over the counter. " Hey, I'm heading out. Do you need a ride or anything? I can wait until your shift ends." she told him. He smiled. " Yeah, that would be great actually. My shift ends at eleven forty five, but it's eleven forty now, so I'll just go with you." he told her. " Awesome." She said, heading back out the exit, him following behind her.

" Do you live with Mike and your family still? I know the address, it's on the same street as mine." she told him. " Yeah, I do. I only work Fridays and Saturdays at the club to get some extra cash. I deferred a year from college, and then...just didn't end up going. Sometimes I work at the store too, I heard you just got a job there recently," he told her. " Yeah, I did." he smiled, " well then I guess I'll just have to come in more often."

She knew he was flirting, she may not have had a whole lot of experience with boys, but she had experience with them hitting on her for sure. She didn't even know what to say, she was used to brushing them off, but she actually liked Matt. He was sweet, and good, and most of all normal. She needed normal.

" I guess you will. That way you can more easily fall in love with me." she sarcastically teased. " Oh of course, that's absolutely necessary." he teased back. She laughed. She pulled into his driveway. " So, now I have to sneak back into my house." she joked. " Your parents don't really like you going out?" he asked.

"My dad is the chief of police. He's not exactly gracious with me living the ' dangerous teenage party life', as he calls it." she told him. " He is?" she nodded. " Is that, like a total red alert or something?" she asked. " No, it's actually awesome. I would love to be a deputy one day." he explained. " Well...then your in luck. In a week or two my dad is doing a deputy in training thingy. I could put in a good word for you and see if he has room for one more." she told him.

" You are seriously awesome." he exclaimed. " Thanks. I'll see you around. I can let Mike know what my dad says..." she started. " Nah, I'll just put my number in your phone." she said. She smiled and nodded, handing him the phone. He put his number in it for her and went inside, thanking her for the ride. He usually had to ride with his co-worker.

Bella drove home. Sneaking up the stairs and into her room. She fell asleep instantly, but she swore she heard a wolf howling just in the woods.

 **Let me know what you think!**


	2. Fighting This

**_Anyone a fan of The Vampire Diaries and know who I'm talking about when I say " Matt Donovan", yeah, that's who the character Matt in my story is sort-of based off of, he's the image I describe._**

 _Dusk Chapter Two- Fighting This_

Rolling out of bed Bella groaned. She didn't usually stay up late, and when she did it effected her negatively. It was almost nine o' clock in the morning. She didn't usually sleep in either. She checked her phone to see if she had missed any calls. Two from Jacob.

She listened to the message he left.

' Bella, please come down to the reservation. Paul said something about...you talking to him or something. He wouldn't say where he saw you. Look, I know you won't tell anyone. That's not what this is about. Just come talk to me, there's things you need to know and...and you're still my best friend...so...Please come.'

She sighed. She couldn't turn Jacob away. She never could.

She showered, got dressed, and drove to the reservation.

She arrived at Jacob's house, where he sat on the porch, looking like he was waiting for her. He looked up and his eyes softened.

She jumped out of the car and went over to him and sat down next to him. " Did you get my calls?" he asked quietly. " Yes. I slept in and missed them." she told him. " Because you were out late?" she sighed. How did he know? " Paul told you." she stated. " So it _is_ true." he remarked, his voice was laced with pain.

"What is? What did he tell you exactly?" she asked. " He told me that you said to tell me that I don't have to ask you to keep quiet. I asked him when it was that you told him that and he said it was last night. I was confused and I questioned what time that was and where, and he said it was pretty late, but wouldn't tell me where." He said.

" Jacob..." she murmured. " No, Bella, it's okay, I get it. Sam already gave me the talk. You guys are imprints and I have to respect that. I get it." he said. "We're what?" Bella asked him. He looked at me, eyes wide. " You don't know?" he asked. " Know what?" he looked very uncomfortable. " Oh shit." he muttered under his breath, standing up. Bella stood up with him. " Jacob? Tell me." she said. He sighed.

" He should be telling you this." he sighed. " Telling me what Jacob? What's an imprint?" I asked. " It's this weird wolf thing. Some wolves have imprints when they need support through the phase. It's really hard on some of us and an imprint is supposed to help with that. It's like...this soulmate thing."

"God, Paul's going to kill me for this." he started. " Jacob, he won't find out anyway." She told him. " Yes, he will, we have a thing called the pack mind. Basically, when we're in wolf form we can hear each other's every thought." She shook her head, " That's insane. Jacob, just... tell me anyway, I won't let him hurt you." He looked around. " Okay, so when the wolf see's his imprint, she's his soulmate, she's supposed to be perfect for him in every way. They're basically designed for each other, some of the elders think that imprinting is some sort of...mating ritual. It helps pass down the gene, as well as grounding the wolf." Jacob said. She was confused.

" So...I'm Paul's soulmate and I'm supposed to help him pass down the werewolf gene and calm him by sleeping with him and running off into the sunset together?" she asked. He hid a smile. " Basically, yeah."

" It's really messed up too, the guy can't even be with anyone else...if you know what I mean. It also hurts them a lot to hurt their imprint, or not be with her when she's upset."

" Can I talk to him?" She asked. His eyes turned slightly sad. " Uh. Yeah. He's at Sam's house. We can go have lunch there if you want. Sam's imprint Emily usually makes us all food." he told me.

" Jacob, I'm not just going to go over there and fall in love with him, I just want to talk to him. What did you expect?" She asked. " I don't know Bella. The pack only has two other imprints, Emily, who's Sam's fiancé and Kim, Jared's girlfriend. They say the imprint has a choice on what she wants the wolf to be, brother, friend, lover, anything she wants. But everyone so far has chosen..." Jacob started.

She looked at him sympathetically. Bella knew he was in love with her. " I'm not like the others. Maybe a lover was what the other two girls needed, but that's not what I'm about to ask him to be."

Jacob and her drove to Emily's house in my truck. It wasn't very far but it would have been a hassle to have to have Jacob run her to and from everywhere.

Paul sat on the porch, his head was resting against the railing. Bella got out of the truck, walking over to him. Jacob went for the door, turning to Bella and nodding 'okay'. When he was inside she sat down next to Paul. " Can we talk?" she asked. " What about?" he asked, even though she was pretty sure he already knew.

" Don't be upset with him. He thought that I already knew, and when I saw that he was hiding something from me I forced him to tell me." she defended Jacob. Jacob had said that Paul would hate him for telling her. " Whatever." he muttered. " why didn't you tell me?" Bella asked.

" Because you didn't need to know. It was better if you didn't. I'm going to figure out a way to break it," he said, not looking her in the eyes. " What? That's possible?" she asked. " Nobody's ever tried it." He said. " That's probably because it will kill us or something, right?" She asked.

" Breaking it won't kill us. We lived perfectly fine without the imprint before, what's the difference if I break it and we live without it again?" Bella sighed. " I just don't think it's a good idea, we could find a way to live with it," she started. " There is no _living_ with it, Bella! You haven't even seen Emily and Sam, or Jared and Kim. They're in love, Bella. Trust me, that's not what you want with me. You don't want to be stuck with me." He murmured the last part, as if he had thought it a thousand times in his head, but never said it out loud.

" Paul, it doesn't have to be that way. I'm supposed to choose, I could choose friends and..." she started, but he interrupted her. " Bella, that's what Emily chose at first. They were _friends_ for not even one month before they caved in and fell in love, four months later they're engaged." He told her harshly.

She felt tears pricking her eyes. She stood up and walked a few steps away turning around to face him.

" Fine, I get it. You don't want to even have to be near me, just as friends, let alone be with me. I get it. I don't know a goddamned thing about you, and as far as I knew you didn't know anything about me either, but just looking at me was enough to know you didn't want me. Right? I at least wanted to get to know you, figure out why on earth we were chosen as soulmates, but you know enough don't you. I'm not some busty blond with perfect curves and a fun attitude, I'm just a broken little girl not even worthy of you looking in her fucking eyes!" She shouted.

Jesus, she had had enough of a rough time in life before some stranger came into the picture and decided that she wasn't good enough for even him, a player, a hot head, a werewolf.

Paul met her eyes finally, his looked hurt, and sorry. " Bella," he started, his voice sad. " Don't even try right now Paul, just leave me alone, okay? Go ahead and break the imprint, like I care." She snapped, turning away from him and heading straight for her truck. She drove back to Jacob's house, knowing that he probably heard the whole thing and wanted to talk to her.

She let herself in and sat down on the couch, wiping her tears. She dug out her phone, and saw one missed call and voicemail, the caller ID read ' MATT'. Just the distraction she needed. She listened to the voicemail.

' Bella, hey, it's Matt. Mike gave me your number. I really want to play this off as me just nagging you about the thing with the Chief, because it's really awkward asking a girl out over her voicemail...but um, yeah, so, a date? Call me back.' She smiled, pressing the ' call back' button. It rang two times before it was answered with a ' hey'.

" Hey, Matt, it's Bella." she heard rustling. " Hey Bella." The slightly familiar voice called into the phone. " Um, so I'm saying yes, to your question." She said, sniffling.

" That's awesome. I was a little worried. Are you okay? You sound kind of..." he started. "Right, yeah I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. So, just so you know this may or may not effect your chances with my dad, you going out with me. " she laughed. "Right, well, I'm willing to take that chance. Hey, here's a thought, maybe I'll actually win him over." He humorously replied, following her wishes and dropping the other subject.

She liked Matt. He was funny, and sweet, and _normal._ He was human.

" So how's Saturday at twelve for lunch at the diner?" Matt asked. " Perfect. I'll see you then." She told him, hanging up just as Jacob opened the door.

" Bella," Jacob said, he sounded worried. " I'm fine, Jake." She told him as he came over to sit next to her.

" Look, Paul's an asshole, but he didn't mean..." Jake started. " Look, Jacob I don't care, okay. It was a moment of weakness and self shame, and now I'm over it. Paul can continue fighting the imprint and fucking girls and being himself, I don't care." She told him. " Bella, he physically _can't._ I told you that." she rolled her eyes. " I'm sure he of all people could find a way." Bella assured him.

" Bella, you don't have to put up that act with me, it's okay. You know you can tell me how you really feel." She licked her lips. " No, I can't Jacob. You have your ' pack mind' and you can't promise that you won't be patrolling with Paul one day and slip up a memory of me telling you my true feelings. I can't talk to you about this, you know that. Besides, I don't even know Paul anyway, why should I be hurt by what he says?" Bella argued. " Because he's your..." She gave him a look that made him instantly stop talking.

" I can talk to you about everything else, but not that." She told him.

" Okay, fine, then why don't we talk about this _Matt_ guy you were flirting with on the phone." He teased. She rolled her eyes. " He's Mike's brother." Jacob snorted, " You're kidding, Marshmallow's brother?" She gave him a look, before cracking up. " Okay, fine, Mike is shallow and marshmallow-ey but Matt isn't."

" Okay, then what's Matt, if not a Marshmallow?" Jacob questioned. Bella smiled. She was happy to have her best friend back. " He's...the whole s'more. The tough graham cracker, the romantic and tasteful chocolate, and just the right amount of soft marshmallow." She described. He laughed. " Okay, so he's... perfect?"

" Yeah, pretty much." She joked. He rolled his eyes. " Okay, how old is he?" Jacob asked. " He's twenty one." She responded. His eyes widened. " Bells, he's way older than you." she snorted, " no he is not. Three years is not a huge difference. That's how far apart we are." he sighed, " two and a half."

" Fine, then how old is my _soulmate?"_ Paul had to be in his twenties. " Nineteen." Jacob responded. " Oh bull, he does not look nineteen." He shrugged. "That's what phasing does to us." Then she realized she had referred to Paul as her soulmate. He definitely _was,_ with the imprint and all that, but it was just weird to say it.

She also noticed it hurt to talk about him, so she dropped the subject. The imprint really did suck.

" I have to patrol, but will I see you tomorrow?" he asked. " It's a Monday, so I'll have school, and then work, but maybe you could come to Newton's at 5:30? I'll make dinner." She suggested. He smiled brightly and agreed.

* * *

Paul had no idea what on earth he was going to do. He was fighting the imprint because he knew that Bella wouldn't want to be stuck with someone like him, especially when she was just his punishment, not his soulmate. She had somehow got it into her head that he was fighting it because she wasn't his type, or good enough for him at all. Yeah right, her not being good enough for Paul? Paul wasn't good enough for anyone, but especially not _her._ She was perfect.

Beautiful, smart, tough, a great dancer as he had come to know. She probably could be good for him, but he would never be good enough for her.

The second he felt Jacob phase in Paul shut out every thought of Bella.

Jacob was thoroughly trying his hardest not to think about Bella, which lead to him only thinking about Bella. He accidentally let slip the memory of her talking about Matt.

 _' Shit'._ He cursed in his mind as they ran patrol.

'W _hat was that?"_ Paul asked him, his voice angry.

' _Look dude, it's not like you're with her or anything. You can't get mad about this.'_ Jacob said, he felt awful for letting that slip, he would feel even worse if Paul did something about it that he would regret.

' _Play the whole fucking thing Jacob.'_ Paul hissed. Jacob huffed, but complied.

 _" He's Mike's brother." She told him. He snorted, " You're kidding, marshmallow's brother?" He teased. She glared but still cracked up. " Okay, fine, Mike is shallow and Marshmallow-ey but Matt isn't." He sighed. " Okay, then what's Matt, if not a marshmallow?" he questioned. " He's...the whole s'more. The tough graham cracker, the romantic and tasteful chocolate, and just the right amount of soft marshmallow." She described. He laughed. " Okay, so he's...perfect?" Jacob asked. " Yeah, pretty much." She joked, but Jacob though maybe she genuinely believed that._

 _' Shit.'_ Paul thought. ' _You are so not aloud to be upset right now, you know that. If you really wanted her, then you would be with her right now, apologizing for the jackass you were earlier.'_ Jacob thought.

' _Jacob, you know I fucking want her. I'm fighting it for her own good! She's the one who wouldn't want to be with me.'_ Paul growled as they ran.

' _Bella will hate you for trying to decide what's best for her. She hates over controlling people, especially after..."_ Jacob stopped, he knew Paul didn't want to hear about what Edward did to her.

' _I'm not controlling her, I'm protecting her!'_ Paul mind-shouted. ' _Protecting her from what?'_ Jacob thought with anger. ' _From myself!'_ Paul snapped, phasing back and ending his patrol.

Paul wanted to rip Matt Newton's head from his shoulders for being interested in Bella, and actually earning her interest as well, but then he realized that Bella didn't belong to him. He had to keep fighting this, she even proved that she wanted to be with someone else by being with someone else.

Paul would continue to fight, but the imprint would fight back harder.


	3. Danger Magnet

**Thank you to everyone who followed this story, read, and reviewed!**

Dusk _Chapter 3: Danger Magnet_

Jacob was five minutes to done with his patrol route when Quil phased for the first time. He wasn't terrified like everyone else had been. His mind put the pieces together and he immediately understood what he was and why. Not just that, he was _ecstatic_ about it.

Jacob was relishing in his friends happiness, when he caught scent (stench) of the leech. He told Quil that he had to go find Sam, and was soon joined by the rest of his pack as they tried to chase the red-headed vampire. She escaped them every time, even trying to kill them a few times.

Jacob came by Newton's at 5:30 on the dot after the leech escaped and ran far enough away that they no longer would chase her.

Bella sat behind the counter talking to Matt, who had decided to come into the store that day, apparently not knowing at all that Bella would be there.

She enjoyed his company nevertheless.

As soon as Jacob walked in, Matt stopped mid-sentence in shock. Jacob was huge, of course, and ridiculously attractive, although Bella hadn't noticed. Bella used to notice his _beauty_ everyday, never in a more than friendly way, however. But now all she ever thought about was Paul. _Paul._ Paul and his perfect six pack. Paul and his sexy smirk. Paul with that god damned low, rough voice.

She hated that she wanted him, but _god_ she wanted him.

Matt cleared his throat, standing up from the stool he sat on next to Bella. " How can I help you?" He asked, his deep blue eyes were the only parts of his body showing any fear of the larger man before him.

Jacob glanced down at Bella, who was already pulling her things into her bag and standing from the stool. " I'm actually here to pick up Bella." Jacob told Matt, taking in his features as if he was deciding whether he approved of him or not. Bella rolled her eyes. Jacob was like a brother to her, and he certainly acted like an over protective one.

Matt's eyes widened as he seemed to comprehend the situation. He suddenly looked deflated. Bella walked around the counter to meet Jacob.

" Matt this is Jacob. Jacob, Matt." Bella introduced. The two guys nodded at each other, but continued to glare back and forth. She let out a low chuckle. Matt must have thought that Jacob was _with_ Bella.

" Jacob's my best friend." She clarified. Matt let out a puff of air he didn't know he was holding in. The poor guy really liked Bella. He had no idea that she was supposed to be bound to some other guy by a supernatural force.

Bella would try though. She would try to fight the imprint as hard as she could. Paul didn't want to be with her, the imprint did. So instead of doing what she had originally thought was a good idea (working around romance and but still following basic imprint guidelines as to not feel pain), she would fight it too. She would try to be with someone else, someone she liked, and she would fight.

" You ready to go Bells?" Jacob asked suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts. " Yeah." She told him, waving goodbye to Matt and following Jacob out the door.

" So, are we still doing dinner?" Bella asked. Jacob didn't meet her eyes as he climbed into the drivers side of the truck. " Um. Well, I'm actually taking you to Sam's." He said. He looked a bit chagrined. " What? Why?" Bella asked.

He sighed." There's been a slight predicament." Jacob said, cryptically. Bella scoffed, looking over to him as he drove down the road to La Push. " _A slight predicament_?" She mocked in a disbelieving voice. " Jacob tell me what the hell is going on." She commanded.

Jacob always talked in short, cryptic sentences filled with strange words when he was keeping something. " Okay, fine. Earlier today I was about to get off of patrol when I caught the stench of leech. The whole pack tried to chase her but she kept getting away. She's trying to get to something, we don't know what yet." Jacob admitted. Bella let out a breath. " Is she...a Cullen?" She asked, she wasn't sure what she would think if they returned. He glanced her way with narrow eyes. " No." Jacob answered.

" She's a sneaky little red headed bitch that's what she is." Jacob said, hoping to swap the subject from the Cullens. Bella swallowed. She knew it had to be Victoria. " Red headed? Um, Jake...I may have some idea of what she's trying to get to." Bella said. She tried to remain calm but nerves were bubbling up inside of her stomach. " What is it?" Jacob asked with his eyebrows furrowed.

" Me." She said. Jacob slammed on the breaks. They were lucky that they were out on the back roads of La Push where nobody was ever out driving around. Bella could see Sam's house from where they were.

"She's what?" He snapped. " Is she a friend of yours? God, Bella, did you _have_ to befriend every fucking vampire in the goddamned state? Is she coming to check up on you? Go fucking shopping? Does she want your help pointing out some human perfect for a vamp-snack?" Jacob launched immediately into an angry fit, starting the truck again and rolling it down the long driveway to the little home tucked away in the forest.

He parked the truck on the grass. Bella was giving him the silent treatment. He couldn't even let her explain herself before he started his rant. " You seriously are a danger magnet. The tricky red-headed bitch who's been trying to take hits at the whole pack has been trying to find her bestie and catch up? God, Bella."

Bella glared at him, unbuckling her seatbelt with rage." She's not my fucking friend Jacob! If you'd just let me explain you'd understand that she's been trying to kill me this whole goddamned time!" She shouted, jumping out of the truck and leaning against the now closed truck door, running a hand through her hair.

Jacob moved and was in front of her faster than she could blink. She gasped in surprise at his angry facade.

" She what?" he growled. " She wants to kill me, Jacob! Why is it that you immediately assumed we were the best of buds? Do you really think that low of me? That I would even go near anyone who would try and kill you like that?"

She huffed, starting to leave when he looked away and disappeared into the tiny house packed with shape-shifters.

Paul glanced up from the plate of food he had been staring at when she came in the door. Sam, Jared, and Embry were out chasing the red head. Paul was left there, making sure the newest member of the pack didn't do any stupid shit. Quil was insane and had to be tamed. The kid couldn't have been more excited about being a wolf. He _loved_ it.

Paul let out a menacing growl as he took in her features and felt what she was feeling though the imprint. Sadness, embarrassment, fear, anger. _Jacob did this._

Paul ripped himself from the chair he sat at and bolted out the door, knocking Jacob off the porch and onto the grass, leaving a bewildered Bella glancing over at Quil and his sloppy grin.

" You too?" She asked. He grinned wider, " Yup," was his response as he dove into the second serving of pasta that who Bella could only assume was Emily scooped onto his plate.

" Who's this Quil?" She asked softly, smiling to Bella. " Bella Swan." He replied, his mouth full. " Oh my, so you're the vampire girl?" Emily said with a smile. When the beautiful young girl had come busting through the door she could only assume that this was the girl that Jacob loved. She fit his every description perfectly. Beautiful, small yet fit, and innocent. Thinking of this only made Emily wonder about what the girl that Paul imprinted on looked like. She had heard that Paul's imprint had come by, talked to him, ( To be more precise yelled at him), and left.

The girl had to be the type that would have a screaming match with him, she would only have been as hot headed as he was. Emily knew that whoever the poor girl was, she was the opposite of sweet Bella Swan.

" Not a vampire girl, she's a wolf girl now." Quil said. Emily gave him a confused glance. Wolf girls were what they referred to the imprints as.

" Did Jacob..." she started. Quil shook his head no. Emily would question him later, but she wasn't sure if Bella knew about imprints yet.

" Bella, why don't you sit down and I'll give you some dinner. You don't have anything to worry about. Jacob's going to join the rest of the boys hunting down the vampire but Quil will be here, and I don't know if you've met Paul?" Emily questioned sweetly as Bella kindly sat down across from Quil.

" Oh she's met him..." Quil said with a head shake. " Oh no, what did he do?" Emily asked with a laugh as she placed a plate in front of Bella. " Ahh. Just imprinted on her, phased in front of her, and then turned her away when she confronted him about the imprint. Of course they got into a yell-fest over him fighting it and then he didn't even try to stop her when she ran off thinking he didn't want her." Quil said. Emily dropped the glass of water she was holding, it falling to the ground and shattering.

" It...it was Paul who imprinted on her?" Emily stuttered. That was insane. The small young girl sitting at her dining room table couldn't have been Paul's imprint. She just couldn't. Her doubts were relinquished the second Paul came busting through the door, his eyes looking Bella all over to make sure she was okay, like all the wolf's did with their imprints.

 _Oh no._

Bella sat at the table eating her food. Emily practically begged Paul to sit down and eat, insisting that he would need the energy if something happened. He finally complied when Bella stepped up and agreed with Emily that he should at least be capable of protecting them like he was supposed to.

They sat silently, never meeting each other's eyes. Quil looked between the two with confusion. He had only ever seen _happy_ imprint couples. This was so much different.

Bella and Paul avoided conversation until the moment the rest of the pack members came bounding through the door.\

 **Sorry for a shorter chapter. Please review to let me know what you** **think!**


	4. You're The One That I Want

**Thanks for your reviews and for reading this story! I'm slowly drawing out the romance with Bella and Paul, but I promise there will be one!**

 _Dusk Chapter 4: You're The One That I Want_

 _( Saturday)_

Bella woke up on Saturday morning to a missed call from three am. This was the fourth missed call from an unknown number at three am she had woken up to. She was getting so tired of it. The first night she had left her sound on, and it had woken her up, but after that she had kept her phone on buzz at night. She figured maybe it was a scam, just someone trying to get her credit information, but she wanted to stay up late that night to find out.

Bella sat at the kitchen counter, Charlie reading his newspaper. " So what are you doing today?" He asked. Bella's heart beat faster. Her father never liked it when she went out with boys. Not that that ever really happened, she turned down almost every last one of them. Sometimes she would give in for the hell of it. But she never actually kind of _liked_ a guy before. She liked Matt.

Charlie was suspicious. He knew that his daughter was up to something. He was a good cop, which made him good at knowing when someone was up to _something._ And in Bella's case, that something had to be her indulging in boys. This didn't happen very often, but when it did, Charlie was miserable. He wished she could've stayed an innocent little kid forever. It was so much easier then.

" Ahh...Going out to lunch." She replied reluctantly. Charlie frowned. _He was right._ " Who with?" He asked, he at least should know who the boy was that was taking his little girl out.

" Umm...Matt Newton." She replied, she knew what his response would be. _Isn't he a little old for you?_ Yes, that would be it for sure.

Charlie hummed while thinking about who this boy was.

" Isn't he a little old..." Her father started saying, she cut him off, " No! No, he's not too old. He's perfectly young still." She said. She couldn't help it, she was actually interested in this particular boy.

" Fine, but isn't Mike a little more suitable?" He asked. Bella thought that Charlie must be completely oblivious. Mike was not her type. Not that she really had a type. Well, she supposed her type was a gorgeous Quileute werewolf with a six pack and anger issues. _Paul,_ to be precise.

" I tried that with Mike already dad, remember?" She asked. Charlie huffed and nodded. " It wasn't exactly a date...Jacob was there." Charlie argued. He was very stuck in his ways. " It was horrible either way." She told him.

After a few more minutes of arguing, Charlie finally gave up.

There was nothing he could do to stop his daughter from going on a date with the older boy. So later that day, when she left in her big old truck to head over to the diner and meet him, Charlie didn't stop her. She had won the argument. She always did.

Bella met Matt outside the diner.

Bella wanted to try being in a relationship. She wanted so badly to be able to get around the imprint. So what if Paul was attractive and exciting, he didn't want her, and she never wanted to be in a relationship where someone didn't truly want her. She knew that if she went to Paul and told him how she felt he would instantly do whatever she wanted. But that was because of the imprint. _Paul_ didn't want her. His wolf did, the imprint did.

She wanted to beat the imprint so badly that she was willing to ignore her every thought of Paul, she was even willing to ignore the tug at her heart she felt as Matt took her hand and bought her inside. Matt wasn't Paul, but Paul wasn't _hers._ Matt could be hers if she played her cards right.

She could fall for him and they could be happy, she would be safe, human, normal. She would never feel completely happy, but she would never have to worry about the other person's happiness.

Her date with Matt went smoothly, almost perfectly. He was funny and nice and everything she would have ever wanted. But he just wasn't _Paul._ Bella didn't care though. She would keep trying with Matt. She actually really liked him.

" Why don't we go see a movie?" Matt asked as they exited the diner. " A movie? Is there any good ones out?" She asked. She knew there probably wouldn't be in the tiny little town theatre.

" Umm...there's some cheesy shark movie out, horror." Of course they had a cheesy horror action movie. They always did. That reminded her of when she went out with Mike and Jacob, which reminded her of Jacob, which reminded her of Paul. It was a vicious cycle.

" Okay, let's see it, I'm feeling brave." She said with sarcasm. The movie most likely wouldn't be scary. " Great." Matt replied with a grin.

They walked to the theatre, since it was right in town like everything else. This was the perfect date. She wished that her body wouldn't betray her and tell her that all she wanted was Paul.

After buying tickets and settling down with a huge jug of popcorn, Bella and Matt sat through ten minutes of commercials and a two hour screening of an obvious fake shark biting people's limbs off. Some of the other girls in the theatre were all tucked into their boyfriends sides, playing the scared card, but Bella was laughing her head off every time an ' attack ' happened.

Matt loved that she wasn't like other girls. She wasn't scared or weak or ridiculously girly. She was tough and funny and somehow mysterious, and Matt loved it.

Bella felt free for the first time since the imprint, for the first time since Edward left. She felt happy and she hadn't felt that way in a long time.

Exiting the theatre after the movie's ending, Bella and Matt both were still laughing their heads off.

Bella was laughing away when she noticed Matt staring at her with a look she couldn't describe. " What?" She asked. He smiled, taking a step closer. " I love your laugh." He stated. She smiled. " Do you?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye. He nodded and leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss. Bella felt a stabbing pain in her chest, which she ignored as she kissed Matt.

It was small, sweet, and the perfect first date kiss. But it wasn't _perfect_ because it wasn't _Paul._ She hated that.

Hand in hand, they walked back to their cars which were back at the diner.

* * *

 _( Two thousand three hundred and eighteen miles away in Alaska)_

" She's moved on Edward. You should do the same." Alice advised her brother. Edward turned his head to give a menacing glare at his sister, shocking her. Edward had hardly moved in a long time. He never got out. He never fed. His skin was chalky and underneath his dark eyes were baggy, bruised ovals of skin. He looked like a human who hadn't slept in days. " She's moved on with what? A human? The boy will never be good enough for my Isabella. She's _different,_ Alice."

" I know she's different. We all do. We all felt it, Edward."

He tried to forget Bella for so long, and eventually gave up. His obsession with her had been unhealthy. She was drawn into him and became attached because of the drug-like effects their allure caused, but Edward had been deleteriously infatuated with the young girl.

At first it was just because he couldn't read her mind, but after watching her he grew obsessed. She wasn't like the average human, there was something else there. Something underneath it all that had been so alluring.

Even Jasper felt it. He had described it as tasting baked goods in the air but not ever being able to eat them. Just barely a _hint_ of that flavor.

It wasn't her blood he was talking about, no, it was her emotions. Her _soul._ Jasper had never in his long lifetime ever felt anything like it. His best guess was that Bella was some sort of angel, or belonged to something else. Something...inhuman, something that was completely beyond him and what he had so far come to believe. The devil perhaps, or even a god of some type. He suspected that she didn't belong to whatever it was just yet, it was a sense that was under the skin, something not _quite_ there yet.

Jasper was the only one with the ability to feel another's feelings, but every member of their family had felt whatever it was inside of Bella. It was the mystery that drew everyone else in, but it was the feeling that had drawn Jasper in.

Edward had become addicted to Bella, to discovering what it was that made her different. He watched her always, he was always at her side, just trying to see what it was. Jasper tried to intervene, but it never worked. Edward was an addict.

Jasper was watching Edward, feeling what he felt. He could sense that Edward was at his tipping point. He would no longer be able to stay away from the girl. Within a months time at best the family would be moving back into Forks. Despite the fact that Bella had moved on with the human. Despite the fact that she seemed better, different, somehow.

Despite everything, the Cullens would be back in Forks. They would be coming back for Bella.

 **Sorry for a shorter chapter this time around guys. I just finished writing out the full story plan for this story! Yay! Leave a review to let me know what you think of it so far.**


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